Dangerous Gun Myths & NRA Lies

The debate over what to do to reduce gun violence in America hit an absurd low point on Wednesday when a Senate witness tried to portray a proposed new ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines as some sort of sexist plot that would disproportionately hurt vulnerable women and their children.

The witness was Gayle Trotter, a fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum, a right-wing public policy group that provides pseudofeminist support for extreme positions that are in fact dangerous to women. She told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the limits on firepower proposed by Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, would harm women because an assault weapon “in the hands of a young woman defending her babies in her home becomes a defense weapon.” She spoke of the “peace of mind” and “courage” a woman derives from “knowing she has a scary-looking gun” when she’s fighting violent criminals.

It is not at all clear where Ms. Trotter gained her insight into confrontations between women and heavily armed intruders, since it is not at all clear that sort of thing happens often. It is tempting to dismiss her notion that an AR-15 is a woman’s best friend as the kooky reflex response of someone ideologically opposed to gun control laws and who, in her case, has also been a vociferous opponent of the Violence Against Women Act, the 1994 law that assists women facing domestic violence.

But it is important to note that Ms. Trotter was chosen to testify by the committee’s Republican members, who will have a big say on what, if anything, Congress does on guns; and that her appearance before the committee was to give voice to the premise, however insupportable and dangerous it may be, that guns make women and children safer — and the more powerful the guns the better.

3. Men have used AR-15s for home defense. ....

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Police said a Nashville man acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a convicted felon who forced his way into his apartment in south Nashville.

Police said 35-year-old Michael Shane Martin was killed late Wednesday night at the Brentridge apartment complex off Bell Road.

Investigators said Michael Moffitt and his girlfriend, Caycee Albright, heard a knock at their door around 11 p.m. and Moffitt found the door peephole was covered. He told Albright to call police while he got an AR-15 rifle and opened the door once he saw it was uncovered.

Police said Martin charged in with a semi-automatic pistol and wearing a mask and gloves. Moffitt was shoved into an interior wall and opened fired, killing Martin.

I see no real reason why an AR-15 would not be a very effective firearm for self defense in the hands of a woman. It is a light easy to handle firearm with very little recoil. A shotgun might be a better choice but the recoil of a 12 gauge shotgun can be intimidating.

Rifles are rarely used for home defense especially in urban areas. In my opinion a semi-auto rifle is a good choice as a home defense weapon in a rural environment.

Much depends on the individual's experience level. A woman who is very familiar with an AR-15 might find it a far better choice than a shotgun or handgun she had little or no experience with.

I know of one anecdotal tale for the 1970s in which a girl in her late teens used a semi-auto M1 carbine to stop a home intrusion. She was home alone when an individual tried to bust the front door of her rural home open. She grabbed her dad's M1 carbine with a 30 round magazine and yelled at the intruder to stop. He continued to try to break the door down so she emptied 30 rounds through the door. While she didn't kill the intruder there was some blood on the door step.

The father, a gun store owner, was upset because she didn't wait for the intruder to enter the home as she would have been able to aim her weapon better. He feared the intruder might try again. As far as I know that never happened.